Nutrition Management in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure
Looking Back:
On Tuesday March the 1st; I was assigned to Mr. M, a 75 years old congestive heart patient (CHF) patient on the medicine floor. At 0734 I assessed the vital signs and performed a head to toe assessment on the patient. Although Mr. M reported that he had no pain, he had shortness of breath and was on oxygen 2L/min, I elevated the head of the bed to 30 degrees to aid his breathing. In addition, his vitals were stable except for the fact that he had both pitting and non-pitting edema in his upper and lower extremities and ascites in his abdomen. During breakfast, while I fed Mr. M, I observed that the he had a poor appetite; I also noted that he had a cough every now and then. I tried to feed the patient slowly, giving him small spoons of the food but he still did not eat much of the …show more content…
Nutrition in CHF patients is important because it can help to improve the function of the heart hence improving their quality of life. Some studies show that eating regular smaller meals that are appealing and easy to digest may help improve the nutrition in CHF patients (Bourdel-Marchasson, & Emeriau, 2001). Other studies suggests that meals should not be skipped as it can result in a low blood sugar level which promotes glucogenolysis and lipolysis by the liver and cause muscle wasting in these individuals (Bourdel-Marchasson, & Emeriau, 2001). Generally, a diet that limits fluid intake (no more than 2000ml/ day) and is high protein, high fibre, low fat and low sodium diet is recommended for individuals with heart failure. This is because it increases heart function and reduces the work load by the heart. According to studies performed by Rich & Hauptman (2015), limiting sodium intake in nutrition of CHF patients alone can help their condition because it limits the amount of water that the heart pumps out of the
Looking Back:
On Tuesday March the 1st; I was assigned to Mr. M, a 75 years old congestive heart patient (CHF) patient on the medicine floor. At 0734 I assessed the vital signs and performed a head to toe assessment on the patient. Although Mr. M reported that he had no pain, he had shortness of breath and was on oxygen 2L/min, I elevated the head of the bed to 30 degrees to aid his breathing. In addition, his vitals were stable except for the fact that he had both pitting and non-pitting edema in his upper and lower extremities and ascites in his abdomen. During breakfast, while I fed Mr. M, I observed that the he had a poor appetite; I also noted that he had a cough every now and then. I tried to feed the patient slowly, giving him small spoons of the food but he still did not eat much of the …show more content…
Nutrition in CHF patients is important because it can help to improve the function of the heart hence improving their quality of life. Some studies show that eating regular smaller meals that are appealing and easy to digest may help improve the nutrition in CHF patients (Bourdel-Marchasson, & Emeriau, 2001). Other studies suggests that meals should not be skipped as it can result in a low blood sugar level which promotes glucogenolysis and lipolysis by the liver and cause muscle wasting in these individuals (Bourdel-Marchasson, & Emeriau, 2001). Generally, a diet that limits fluid intake (no more than 2000ml/ day) and is high protein, high fibre, low fat and low sodium diet is recommended for individuals with heart failure. This is because it increases heart function and reduces the work load by the heart. According to studies performed by Rich & Hauptman (2015), limiting sodium intake in nutrition of CHF patients alone can help their condition because it limits the amount of water that the heart pumps out of the